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Newsmaker: Ellen Gabriel discusses the Idle No More conflict

In the last few days the Idle No More movement has been overshadowed by a federal audit of the Attawapiskat First Nations reserve.

The audit found widespread financial mismanagement, including little documentation and accounting for the money spent.

The band's chief is Theresa Spence, who has been on a hunger strike for a month.

Ellen Gabriel is an aboriginal activist and best known for being also a spokesperson during the Oka crisis in 1990. She feels that the release of the audit was a ploy by the federal government.

"After listening to the First Nations Financial Management Board, who said there was no evidence of fraud or any wrongdoings, just perhaps some sloppy accounting, I see it as another way of distracting from the real issues that Attiwapiskat faces which is the housing crisis, and the crisis that many communities face because of the Indian Act," said Gabriel.